September 25, 2011

Associations are increasingly focused on ensuring relevance in an ever-changing industry landscape marked by an aging workforce, consolidation and more groups than ever vying for members’ time. This article looks at how associations across distribution sectors are tackling the challenge to grow value by adding and refining services that cater to member needs.

During an annual association meeting earlier this year, an attendee wondered on Twitter whether that association could “survive as more than a social club.” It’s a question of shifting value and one that all associations today have to answer.

Networking remains a key selling point of associations, according to David Gordon, president of Channel Marketing Group. But …

In a blog I wrote recently at mdm.com/blogs about HD Supply’s sale of its HVAC/Plumbing business to Hajoca, I talked about whether one company will ever be able to consolidate across many different industrial distribution sectors. Over the past half decade, HD Supply made the strongest run to consolidate the diverse sectors that define industrial distribution as it grew revenues past $10 billion.

But if you consider the total size of all the MRO sectors it penetrated …

News briefs from Sept. 11-25, 2011.